A row of embellished shotguns fills a shelf in the gun room at Outdoor Emporium on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.

A row of embellished shotguns fills a shelf in the gun room at Outdoor Emporium on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.

Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM

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Boxes of ammunition line the shelves behind the counter in the gun room at Outdoor Emporium on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.

Boxes of ammunition line the shelves behind the counter in the gun room at Outdoor Emporium on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.

Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM

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Ron Hanantha cleans and assembles a rifle in the gun room at Outdoor Emporium on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.

Ron Hanantha cleans and assembles a rifle in the gun room at Outdoor Emporium on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.

Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM

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Stuffed pheasants rest on top of guns safes in the gun room at Outdoor Emporium on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.

Stuffed pheasants rest on top of guns safes in the gun room at Outdoor Emporium on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.

Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM

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Employees looks through photos from a previous hunt while waiting for customers on a slow day in the gun room at Outdoor Emporium on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.

Employees looks through photos from a previous hunt while waiting for customers on a slow day in the gun room at Outdoor Emporium on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.

Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM

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Steven Aragon looks down the sights of some new stock in the gun room at Outdoor Emporium on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016. Shop owners say Seattle's new gun and ammunition tax enacted this year has hurt sales and the city hasn't been transparent with the funds collected. less

Steven Aragon looks down the sights of some new stock in the gun room at Outdoor Emporium on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016. Shop owners say Seattle's new gun and ammunition tax enacted this year has hurt sales and the ... more

Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM

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Outdoor Emporium's gun room sits empty on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.

Outdoor Emporium's gun room sits empty on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.

Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM

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A kudu, a type of antelope, shot by an employee, decorates a wall in the gun room at Outdoor Emporium on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.

A kudu, a type of antelope, shot by an employee, decorates a wall in the gun room at Outdoor Emporium on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.

After months of withholding its release, Seattle city government released the 2016 income from the newly implemented gun safety tax, conceding that it came up well short of its forecast when the ordinance was passed by the City Council in 2015.

The tax, championed by City Councilman Tim Burgess, was purportedly intended to help pay for gun violence research conducted at Harborview Medical Center. It placed a tax on each firearm and round of ammunition sold within city limits.

When it was approved, the city finance agency predicted it would collect $300,000 to $500,000.

"I'm neither disappointed or pleased," he said Tuesday, adding that he knew the $300,ooo to $500,000 was just a guess. "It is what it is."

The tax charges $25 for every firearm sold in the city and 5 cents for every round of ammunition of .22 caliber or greater.

Harborview's take from the tax was always supposed to be about $130,000. The 2016 tax revenue falls short of that, but while the tax was contested in courts, the city allocated $275,000 from the general fund toward the study.

The tax's constitutionality was challenged by the National Rifle Association, the Second Amendment Foundation and the National Shooting Sports Foundation. They argued that the city should have been prohibited from imposing the tax because the state does not allow local governments to regulate firearms.

But the state Supreme Court upheld the ordinance on Thursday, contending that it's a tax meant to pay for a research program and not a regulatory fee that conflicts with state law.

"The high court's decision to uphold what clearly appears to us as a violation of Washington's 34-year-old State Preemption Act is proof positive that the court places political correctness above the rule of law," wrote Alan M. Gottlieb, founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation after the decision.

Burgess defended the tax as a means of making gun sellers part of the solution to the effects of gun violence.

"The fundamental principle behind the tax is that the firearms industry should contribute to mitigating the harms caused by their products," he said. "That remains the primary motivation for the tax. That's what we set out to do, that's what we passed and that's what the state Supreme Court has validated."

The law was not written to specify where the tax revenue would go, but it was always intended to go toward programs like Harborview's, Burgess explained. So if the city had collected an amount beyond the agreed-upon $130,000, the excess would have gone to other education and public safety causes, he said.

But should the tax continue to generate less than $130,000 or progressively shrink, "then I'm sure my colleagues would continue to fund the program with other sources," Burgess said.

For its part, Harborview collects money from several different sources other than the city for its study. Other contributors are the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, the U.S. Department of Justice and "philanthropic sources," according to Harborview spokeswoman Susan Gregg. It has not yet spent money collected from the gun tax.

Mike Coombs, Outdoor Emporium's owner, believes the city is being disingenuous in its efforts to pay for gun violence research.

"We're already doing (gun) training," Coombs said, in addition to his business's efforts with Seattle Children's Hospital to distribute gun lock boxes. "The city doesn't care about the training with firearms. They just want them gone."

He said his sales dropped 15 percent since the tax took effect but that his store in Fife did not see the same decline.

Coombs conceded that gun tax opponents lost their court case with last week's Supreme Court decision. But he wondered how the city would continue to pay Harborview if he were to move his shop to Bellevue or Redmond.

"What is their plan to make sure that they always get that money?" he asked Tuesday. "They didn't think it through."

Coombs reported in court documents that Outdoor Emporium contributed $86,410.63 to the gun tax last year.

The city's tax figure was released this week after a lengthy public records battle, which originated when Dave Workman, senior editor for thegunmag.com, requested the numbers for the first quarter of 2016.